Professor Bidyanand Jha of Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies does India proud at the 7th Global Conference of University of Colombo

Posted on: January 16, 2013

In what is a matter of great pride for all Indian B-schools, Professor Bidyanand Jha of Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies has won top honours for India in what is recognised as one of the most prestigious conferences globally. The 7th Annual University of Colombo Conference, had 45 shortlisted paper presented by eminent faculty from countries spanning from Australia to Germany. The sheer magnitude of this feat by Professor Bidyanand Jha of KIAMS can be gauged from the fact that there were 30 submissions from the best brains from the topmost institutions of India; Professor Jha’s paper was the only one selected from India for presentation at the 7th Annual University of Colombo Conference.

“Goes to show that if you truly and passionately believe in a subject, then you should go after it at all costs. With the support of the management at KIAMS, I had been researching the young Indian consumers’ perception of Mobile Internet for commercial purpose for nearly one year before this conference. The subject truly intrigued me and I was more than happy to present my research at the conference. The most overwhelming experience was when – as one of the ‘top 5’ papers at the Conference – I had the honour of presenting my findings to what seemed like the entire University of Colombo! The huge hall was filled with dignitaries, faculty, and students of University of Colombo, as well as the international participants.”

While the second prize did include a sum of 1,50,000 Sri Lankan Rupees, it was the honour attached to the event that certainly carried more weight for Professor Bidyanand. Since his research paper is to be published in the January edition of the Colombo Business Journal, Professor Bidyanand –who is back in KIAMS – is currently busy adding a few modifications to the paper, addressing the comments he received at the Conference.

“The mobile gadgets with internet facilities for various operations, has gained popularity among young consumers. It is essentially to be connected with their social and commercial groups. However, the gap between standardization and adaptation of Mobile Internet for commercial purpose in the country still persists. While industries are looking for transformation of their process from physical to virtual market, empirical research in the field of standardization verses adaptation is still limited in the field of young consumers. In order to enrich the literature in this context, which is currently limited, my paper explores the young Indian consumers’ perception of Mobile Internet for commercial purpose.”

Professor Bidyanand’s subjects for research in this paper are the young under-graduate and postgraduate consumers between the age of 15-22 residing in metropolitan cities. The sample size for the data collection has 250 responses, of which nearly 200 respondents reported that they use Mobile Internet enabled device.

“I see this as a new beginning. God willing, next year I will bring another award winning paper for KIAMS, in another International Conference. I’m targeting the NSU (National University of Singapore) conference, and an opportunity to be published by a few more international journals.”

Professor Jha believes this particular paper has changed his outlook towards research. He has learnt new techniques to improve the quality of his research work. He has already begun to share his insights with his students at KIAMS.